Media advisory

CSW Side Event: A Girl’s Right to Learn Without Fear: Working to End Gender-Based Violence at School

Who: Geeta Rao Gupta, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF Minister Paavo Arhinmäki, Minister for Culture and Sport and Minister responsible for gender equality at the Ministry for Social Affairs Rosemary McCarney, President and CEO, Plan International Canada Seodi White, Lawyer and National Coordinator, Women in Law in Southern Africa Robert Prouty, Lead Education Specialist, World Bank Holly Gordon, Executive Director, 10x10 and Executive Producer, Girl Rising Sarah Hendriks, Global Gender Advisor, Plan International A member of the Because I am a Girl Youth Speakers Bureau

What: To launch a call for global action and urge governments to adopt a multi-sectoral action plan to prevent and respond to violence against children, with a strong focus on gender and the school context. A global report entitled, A Girl’s Right to Learn Without Fear: Working to End Gender-Based Violence at School, by Plan International will be launched at the event. Four girl ambassadors from El Salvador, Finland, Norway, Uganda, and Vietnam will also be present to speak about their personal experiences.

Why: Gender-based violence is a major and critical barrier threatening the education of girls in many countries of the world. According to the latest report by Plan International, between 500 million and 1.5 billion children experience violence every year, many in and around schools. There are immediate and long-term consequences of school-related gender-based violence including health consequences such as STDs, HIV infection, unwanted early pregnancies, psychological suffering, poor performance at school, absenteeism and high dropout rates. The discussion aims to raise awareness about the issue and promote the development of national action plans to end school related gender-based violence.

About UNGEI:The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) is a partnership of organizations committed to narrowing the gender gap in primary and secondary education. It also seeks to ensure that, by 2015, all children complete primary schooling, with girls and boys having equal access to free, quality education. UNGEI was launched in 2000 at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, by then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in response to a troubling reality: Of the millions of children worldwide who were not in school, more than half were girls – a reality that continues today. To read more about UNGEI, visit: www.ungei.org